The Red Wings knew this was coming.
They knew that the New York Rangers, visiting Detroit on Thursday night, were one of the best teams in the NHL. They knew their opponent’s goaltending would be impeccable and their power play would be dominant. They knew they had to overcome those strengths – through defense, through membership, through adjustment – to achieve a redemptive victory in the midst of a difficult start to the season.
They didn’t, and because of that, the Red Wings (1-3-0) had to suffer another lopsided loss. And no matter how tough a time they’ve faced to start the season, the pressure is mounting on Detroit to prove themselves at the start of a season filled with so much hope and hype. The team it wanted to be this season – with strong goaltending, decisive special teams and, above all, defense – has yet to appear. Thursday’s loss only adds more pressure.
Mandatory credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
“Everything early in the season is magnified,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said after the loss. “You’re going to go through these kinds of stages throughout the year. It turns out to be at the beginning. And again, we knew it was going to be a tough time, just a little frustrating with the way some of them went.
Knowing whether or not the stretch would be tough, the Red Wings showed little reaction to their slow start. The same struggles – defense, goaltending and lack of finishing on offense – occurred in all three losses, and they were prominent again on Thursday.
The Rangers (3-0-1) spent a lot of time in Detroit’s half to start the first period, but three and a half minutes of power play gave the hosts some life and momentum. The Red Wings failed to convert those chances, however, including an Alex DeBrincat shot that missed a wide-open net and a loose puck drill that New York cleaned up first.
Although Detroit took a 13-1 advantage in unblocked shot attempts, according to ESPN, forward Artemi Panarin scored on the Rangers’ very first shot at 8:30 of the game, the first move would have balled snow in a hat trick and a four-point night. for the Russian superstar. This all included his team’s second goal, which gave New York a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
The Red Wings entered the second half with a chance to change momentum – they knew they needed it if they had a chance. Defenseman Moritz Seider scored just 1:27 into the second period to give Detroit some juice. But over the next 11 minutes, two more Rangers power play goals and defenseman Victor Mancini’s first NHL goal put the Red Wings up 5-1. They traded goaltender Cam Talbot (who scored all five goals on 19 shots) for Alex Lyon, but otherwise fell asleep for the rest of the game with little hope of regaining control. Boos from an emptying stadium punctuated another difficult night in the Motor City.
“It’s a frustrating game in the sense that we start really well and they score on their first chance and their first power play,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said after the game. “We found ourselves 2-0 down after playing a pretty good period. So yeah, it’s only four games and they were all a little different. But this one eluded us on special teams.
Blame any excuse, but Detroit knew what would happen if it couldn’t contain New York’s power play, which was 3-for-5 on the night. He knew goals would be difficult to score against Rangers goaltenders – even against backup, three-time Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Quick. Despite this knowledge and all the preparation, despite seeing this same team three nights ago, the Red Wings left the game with another frustrating loss, with little resemblance to the team they hoped to be this season.
It wasn’t that long ago that the Red Wings were a playoff hopeful and looking to face these same Rangers in a playoff series. But in an offseason spent trying to mount another playoff push on a shoestring budget, Detroit lost what made this season tick. His saving grace last year was his offense, but he gave up 75 field goals through free agency and trades. Now, the Red Wings are averaging 2.25 goals per game, bottom five in the NHL. And the asset they so coveted to instill this offseason – defensive improvement – hasn’t manifested itself consistently either. The Rangers quickly exposed both sides of this identity crisis.
“It’s not something that you just flip a switch and it happens,” defenseman Ben Chiarot said of defensive buy-in. “It’s not just the guys who know the structure. We have a lot of offensive-minded players, guys who want to go on the offensive. To get those kinds of guys to buy into the defense, it takes time. It’s an opt-in process. Every year you hear teams talk about adhering to what the coaches preach, and we’re in that process right now. And it doesn’t just happen one night, two nights (inside). It takes time, and you have to have classes like tonight (to) make you change that quickly.
What exactly needs to change? The first four games, including Thursday’s, exposed so many problems at once. Defensive play, goaltending and special teams were arguably the Red Wings’ weaknesses, with little improvement shown night after night.
“It’s just a few games and we’re playing the best teams every night,” Chiarot said. “This is a team that has been to the finals several times over the last two years. We therefore face tough competition, which is good for us at the start of the season. It’s a good measuring stick, and it shows us where we need to get to. We have a lot of work to do. Luckily, we’re early in the season and we can kind of learn our lesson early, instead of screwing up early on, picking up a few easy wins, and then facing teams like this later when we have really need these points.
Perhaps that prospect offers a saving grace, but it doesn’t change the Red Wings’ poor start. They were surely hoping for more than one victory in these first four games, and above all hoping to look more like the team they hoped to be from now on. This puts even more emphasis on getting something from the next batch of games, thus raising the stakes.
There is a way out, if Detroit can start stringing together wins. But as Chiarot pointed out, the roots of its problems run so deep that there is no quick fix. Even though the season is only four games in, it feels like the next 78 games are going to be tough.
Performances like Thursday’s are the kind that make the seats hot and the fans cold. These are the kind of losses that playoff teams rarely suffer. But they are too common to start the Red Wings season. And if they continue to be, they know what’s coming next.
